FG Scholars Abroad Stage Protest Over Unpaid Allowances

Nigerian students wey dey study abroad under di Federal Government Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) and dia parents go stage protest today (Monday) over unpaid scholarship stipends wey don put many of di scholars for serious distress. According to notice from di Forum of BEA Scholars, di demonstration go happen for Ministry of Finance headquarters for Abuja by 10am. Parents of di affected students talk say dem no fit continue to bear di financial and emotional wahala as dia children dey stranded abroad. Di scholars claim say dem suppose collect $500 monthly stipends but dem never receive any payment since this year—11 months don pile up. Dem even talk say FG cut dia 2024 stipends by 56 per cent, pay dem $220 instead of $500, and still owe dem arrears for September, October, November and December 2023. Students for Hungary, Morocco, China, Russia and Serbia dey struggle to pay for food, house rent, medical care and transport. Some don take small-small jobs wey violate scholarship rules, while others dey survive on charity. Di group even link di recent death of one Nigerian student for Morocco to di hardship caused by unpaid allowances.

Di wahala come worse after FG announce for April 2025 say dem don cancel di BEA programme, call am unsustainable and waste of public money, despite earlier assurance say supplementary allowances don reach December 2024 and more funds don dey requested. Di programme, wey dey run through agreements with China, Russia, Algeria, Hungary, Morocco, Egypt and Serbia, don send hundreds of Nigerians abroad for school. But Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, talk say government go redirect BEA money to local scholarships to benefit more students, insist say spending N650m on 60 students no make sense when millions for Nigeria no dey get support. Alausa say oversight for di BEA poor, and di N9bn projected for only 1,200 students for 2025 no dey justifiable as all di courses dem dey study dey available for Nigerian universities. He confirm say current beneficiaries go finish dia programmes but no new student go enter BEA after 2025. Alausa also complain say 85 per cent of students wey FG send abroad no dey return home, and announce say TETFund no go fund institutions with less than 2,000 students. With FG decision to stop foreign scholarships, many BEA beneficiaries don stranded abroad as matter dey get tougher for dem.